Between a rock and a hard place

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Sulla80, May 9, 2020.

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  1. Sulla80

    Sulla80 Well-Known Member

    upload_2020-5-9_10-4-48.png A search of CT does not turn up an example of my latest coin. I will start the story of this coin with Homer's Odyssey, and the passage where Odysseus and his crew are navigating between Charybdis, a treacherous whirlpool, and Scylla, a rock that hides a man-eating monster.

    “Thus we sailed up the straits, groaning in terror, for on the one side we had Scylla, while on the other mysterious Charybdis sucked down the salt sea water in her dreadful way. When she vomited it up, she was stirred to her depths and seethed over like a cauldron on a blazing fire; and the spray she flung on high rained down on the tops of the crags at either side.”
    - Homer, The Odyssey, translated by E.V. Rieu, Penguin Books, Book 11 p201-202

    The straits of Messina are the location described here and also in Virgil's Aeneid. Here on the map you can see the location of Catana (or Katane) which is today Catania, a coastal city of Sicily about 100km south of Messina and 30 km south of volcanic Mt. Aetna.
    upload_2020-5-9_8-31-0.png
    Map Source

    Strabo writing sometime near the end of the first century BC, describes Catana and its neighboring cities:

    "The cities along the side that forms the Strait are, first, Messene, and then Tauromenium, Catana, and Syracuse; but those that were between Catana and Syracuse have disappeared — Naxus and Megara; and on this coast are the outlets of the Symaethus and all rivers that flow down from Aetna and have good harbours at their mouths; and here too is the promontory of Xiphonia."...
    "Catana lost its original inhabitants when Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, established a different set of colonists there and called it Aetna instead of Catana." (circa 476 BC)
    - Strabo, Geography Book VI Ch. 2.2

    Nevertheless, Catana seems to have persisted. An eruption of Aetna in 427/6 BC is thought to be the source of the legend of the Katanian brothers, depicted on a the denarius shown below. You can find a post related to this coin here by @Jochen1 and I will include a brief description by Strabo:

    "Now the city of Aetna is situated in the interior about over Catana, and shares most in the devastation caused by the action of the craters; in fact the streams of lava rush down very nearly as far as the territory of Catana; and here is the scene of the act of filial piety, so often recounted, of Amphinomus and Anapias, who lifted their parents on their shoulders and saved them from the doom that was rushing upon them."
    - Strabo, Geography Book VI Ch. 2.2

    M Herenni 308-1b Blu.jpg
    M. Herennius, 108-107 BC, AR Denarius, Rome mint
    Obv: PIETAS, Diademed head of Pietas right, ; K facing down to right
    Rev: Amphinomus running right, carrying his father on his shoulder
    Ref: Crawford 308/1a; Sydenham 567


    Diplomatic interactions between Egypt and Rome were first initiated ~273 BC as the little Republic began to be worthy of notice - Dio Cassius writes:

    “And Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, when he learned that Pyrrhus had fared badly and that the Romans were growing powerful, sent gifts to them and made a compact. And the Romans, pleased with this, despatched ambassadors to him in turn. The latter received magnificent gifts from him, which they desired to place in the treasury; the senate, however, would not accept them, but allowed the envoys to keep them.”
    Dio Cassius 10.41

    The first Roman silver coins were issued shortly after the defeat of Pyrrus in 267 BC.[*]

    During the First Punic War (264-241 BC), in 263 BC, Katane and was one of the first Sicilian cities to submit to Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus, Roman consul in 263 BC, and son of the consul of 289 BC. M. Valerius Maximus also concluded a peace agreement with Hieros II of Syracuse and was awarded a triumph in Rome for his victories. The Romans were aided in this war by Egypt's neutrality and unwillingness to take sides between two allies, leaving Carthage with a challenge to pay mercenaries.[*]
    Katane Serapis.jpg
    Sicily, Katane, circa 204-187 BC, AE
    Obv: Janiform head of Serapis; three monograms around
    Rev: KATA-NAIΩN, Demeter standing left, holding grain ears and torch
    Size: 12.36g, 21mm
    Ref: Casabona 10; BAR Issue 9; CNS 14; HGC 2, 619


    Roman influence can clearly be seen on the obverse of this coin with it's janiform head which can even be mistaken for a Roman As with Janus. However, this coin shows Serapis with Demeter reverse, and others issued at the time show Isis as well. I would like to better understand the Egyptian relationship and influence on these coins and the coins of the Roman republic.[*] This illustration shows the monograms that are not fully visible on my coin (see this coin from ACSearch for a clear example. What do these monograms represent - magistrates?, marks of value? - I have only questions.
    upload_2020-5-9_10-21-53.png
    Katane seems to have fared well between many "rocks and hard places" navigating successfully between powers of Sicily, Carthage, Egypt and Rome - not to mention volcanic eruptions. Strabo also mentions that it produced good wine and fat sheep thanks to fertile, volcanic soil. After the first Punic War it became a "civitas decumana" or tributary city, paying a tenth of its grain harvest to Rome and it became one of the most prosperous cities in Sicily in the first century. (see: Hoover, Coins of Sicily)

    As always, additions, comments and corrections are appreciated. Post your coins of Sicily, Katane, Serapis, or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2020
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  3. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Wow, nice write-up, @Sulla80 ! And, great coins. I do like the Januform, but good catch, you can see the Modus-top a mile away! :)

    I will drop a KATANE here for you:

    upload_2020-5-9_10-49-18.png
    RR Anon AE Sextans 211-206 BCE Prob Sicily-Katana mintage Cr 69-6a Sear 1211

    If I recall, Katane was a city/town Rome had control during the 1st and 2nd Punic Wars.
     
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  4. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    I've got three depicting Serapis so far.

    postumus3.jpg

    postumus4.jpg

    nerotet.jpg

    maximinus3.jpg

    maximinus4.jpg
     
  5. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    I find it hard to believe I have not posted these in the last decade but these are all I have related:
    This Herennius differs in the symbol under the chin.
    r12800bb2891.jpg

    AR litra c.450 BC Selinos / winged t-bolt 0.7g
    g20365bb2704.jpg

    Zeus-Sarapis and Isis jugate / Apollo - I bought this in 1991 as my first jugate portrait coin. Under the thick patina revers right is enough legend to make the ID. Under Isis' chin is an X identifying the denomination as a dekonkion.
    g20550bb0071.jpg
     
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  6. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    M Herennius.jpg
    M. HERENNIUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS HERENNIA
    AR Denarius
    OBVERSE: PIETAS, diademed head of Pietas right
    REVERSE: M•HERENNI, Amphinomus carrying his father right, control letter in right field (Dot over sideways D)
    Struck at Rome 108-109 BC
    3.8g, 18mm
    Cr308/1b; Syd 567a
     
  7. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Very cool rarity and a really stellar write up!
    Here's a sic Kat coin of mine: 20190326_100616_23B2AF21-7047-4765-81C1-E1694880F4C5-406-0000006F832BF807.png
    Sicily, Katane
    AR Litra. Circa 415/3-404 BC. Head of Silenos to left, wearing ivy wreath / ΚΑΤΑΝΑΙΩΝ Winged thunderbolt between two shields. Boehringer, Kataneische LI 6-7. Rizzo pl. XIV, 18 var. SNG ANS 1266. 0.71g, 10mm, 6h
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2020
  8. Marsyas Mike

    Marsyas Mike Well-Known Member

    A very informative write-up, Sulla80.

    I think this coin ties in with the theme - I found it in my local dealer's junk box a while back. It has a rather junk box appearance, but I think these are a bit scarce, so I was pretty thrilled to find it amongst the bent Canadian bank tokens and worn-slick Victorian pennies.

    It is from a place right across the Straits of Messina - Rhegium, Burttium, now called Reggio Calabria:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Calabria

    This features a female Janiform pair of heads, I am assuming showing Roman influence?

    Rhegium, Bruttium  A-Z Lot Sep 21 2018 (0).jpg

    Rhegium, Bruttium
    Æ 25 Pentonkion
    (c. 215-150 B.C.)

    Janiform female head / Asklepios seated left by tripod holding sceptre; PHΓINΩN to right [Π above tripod to left, serpent in exergue].
    SNG ANS 745; HN Italy 2551.
    (10.05 grams / 25 mm)
     
  9. Sulla80

    Sulla80 Well-Known Member

    Interesting coins from all of Sicily, Katane, Serapis and the Katanian brothers :) @Ryro do you have a weight or diameter on that nice looking ivy wreathed AR Silenos?
    An interesting coin that raises another of my key questions about these coins - how local bronzes were minted and used side-by-side with official Roman coins. This review of Crawford's "Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic" by Buttrey offers an interesting comment.

    "During the Second Punic War the Romans struck in Sicily, notably at Catana (where much bronze was produced by overstriking Syracusan). But local bronze continued to be struck as late as the early Empire, somehow to be exchanged against the Roman denarii. Some bronze even imitated Roman types (the Janus-head asses of Panormus) but not the Roman weight system, indicating that local accommodation of incommensurate systems was permitted."
    - Buttrey, T. (1989). Classical Philology, 84(1), p70

    and reminded me of this other Sicilian, relevant and not very pretty coin (or at least badly photographed):
    Janus Panormus.jpg
    Sicily, Uncertain Roman mint (Panormus?), Circa 200-190 BC, Æ As, Manius Acilius, Quaestor.
    Obv: Laureate head of bearded Janus; I above
    Rev: MN(ligate)/ACILI/Q in three lines within laurel-wreath, star pattern of pellets at top
    Size: 5.11g, 20.4mm
    the various weight standards and names used for denominations for Sicilian bronzes is bewildering to me: I think a dekonkion is 10 onkia which is 10/12ths of a litra or 1 chalkous of 4g standard? There also seems to be very wide variability - your coin 17-20mm and 3.31-5.16g in weight and the A/B denomination of my coin 19-24mm and 5.9-13.34 g in Hoover, Coins of Sicily). I wonder if this variability made any difference if you were buying bread, honey or wine...

    Here's a trionkion (3/12 litra?) of Kamarina (Camarina) which unlike Panormos (Palermo) appears on the OP map above. Closer in time to the AR Silenos coins.
    Trionkion Kamarina.jpg
    Sicily, Kamarina, Circa 420-405 BC, AE Tetras or Trionkion
    Obv: Helmeted head of Athena left
    Rev: Owl standing left, head facing, grasping lizard; ••• (mark of value) in exergue
    Size: 15.2mm, 2.92g
     
  10. Ryro

    Ryro Trying to remove supporter status

    Sure do! I switched phones a couple weeks agoand was being lazy about downloading on the new phone all of my coins identifications.
    I appreciate the kick. I have updated the post. And for more kicks here's my favorite janiform coin!
    20190728_101515_C54E5EDC-9A51-40A1-917C-64FDE2E0BBD0-1718-0000026DEDB6FEAC.png
    Sextus Pompey
    Ӕ As. Spain or Sicily, 45 BC. Laureate head of Janus, with the features of Cn. Pompeius Magnus; [MGN] above / Prow right; [PIVS] above, IMP below. Crawford 479/1; CPP I 671. 19.23g, 28mm,
    Fine.
    Ex-Savoca
     
  11. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Alegandron said:
    Wow, nice write-up, @Sulla80RR Anon AE Sextans 211-206 BCE Prob Sicily-Katana mintage Cr 69-6a Sear 1211
    An interesting coin that raises another of my key questions about these coins - how local bronzes were minted and used side-by-side with official Roman coins. This review of Crawford's "Coinage and Money Under the Roman Republic" by Buttrey offers an interesting comment.

    "During the Second Punic War the Romans struck in Sicily, notably at Catana (where much bronze was produced by overstriking Syracusan). But local bronze continued to be struck as late as the early Empire, somehow to be exchanged against the Roman denarii. Some bronze even imitated Roman types (the Janus-head asses of Panormus) but not the Roman weight system, indicating that local accommodation of incommensurate systems was permitted."


    @Sulla80 , I have several coins from Italia that were Allies, subject to, etc. with Rome. Many fit within the Roman system, several probably did not. There were different weight measures, as well as several minting cities in Italia using 10 Unciae to an As, as opposed to Rome having 12 Unciae to an As. I reckon since many Italians and the Romans use raw Bronze (Aes Rude) as currency. They were all probably pretty used to weighing Bronze to equate transactions. This probably extended to Sicily transactions also.

    It really wasn’t until the Pyrrhic War (280-275 BCE) and the Second Punic War (218-201 BCE) that Rome moved into their “modern” age of having Silver Coinage and a more standardized Bronze coinage system. Additionally, it was not until after the close of the Second Punic War, that Roman coinage became standard across Italia. Remember, many of the Italian Cities who were Roman Allies, were breaking away from Rome during the Second Punic War.

    Ultimately, the Social War 90-88 BCE consolidated Italia.

    [EDIT] - Addendum: One thing that my Roman History Professor impressed in us... the Romans had Contracts, Treaties, and Agreements for everything. Each City, State, Entity that interacted with Rome to become an Ally or other mutual relationship was bound and tied into a Treaty. EACH were written INDEPENDENTLY and none were the same with the various Allies. Codicils within these Treaties/Contracts/Agreements probably drove each of the Allied Cities' rights of coinage, etc. This was the fabric of Roman Italia during the Republic down to the Social War, in which Rome LOST politically, and won Militarily.

    Just a thought, and some recollections from readings.

    [​IMG]
    FRENTANI, Larinum
    ca 210-175 BCE
    Æ 18mm - Quadrans.
    Obv: Bearded head of Herakles right, in lion's skin headdress
    Rev: LADINOD, centaur galloping right, holding branch over left shoulder; three pellets in ex.
    Ref: SNG ANS 137; BMC 8; SNG Cop 272


    [​IMG]
    SAMNIUM, Aesernia.
    Circa 263-240 BC.
    Æ (20mm, 7.14 g, 8h).
    Obv: Head of Vulcan left, wearing pilos; tongs to right
    Rev: Jupiter in biga galloping right; above, Nike flying right, crowning horses. Campana 4; HN Italy 430.
    Good Fine, dark green-brown patina.
    From the Camerata Romeu Collection
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2020
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  12. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Interesting coin and writeup, @Sulla80. Since you mention the man-eating Scylla, here's a coin which depicts her, struck in Sicily by Sextus Pompey.

    RR Sextus Pompey - Scylla.jpg
    ROMAN IMPERATORS. Sextus Pompey.
    AR Denarius. 3.76g, 18.9mm. Sicily, 40-39 BC. Crawford 511/4; Sydenham 1348; Sear, Imperators 335. O: The Pharos of Messana surmounted by a statue of Neptune; in foreground, galley left adorned with legionary eagle, sceptre and trident; MAG PIVS IMP ITER around. R: Scylla left, wielding a rudder in both hands; PRÆF CLAS ET ORÆ MARIT EX SC around.
    Ex Andrew McCabe Collection, privately purchased from John Jencek, 2011
     
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  13. jb_depew

    jb_depew Well-Known Member

    Great, informative write up!

    [​IMG]
     
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  14. Sulla80

    Sulla80 Well-Known Member

    A perfect coin for the OP theme! and one that I'd be happy to have - is this :D the green with envy emoji?
     
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  15. DonnaML

    DonnaML Well-Known Member

    Given that the syncretistic cult of Serapis was first introduced by Ptolemy I Soter less than 100 years before this coin was issued, it must be one of the earliest numismatic depictions of Serapis -- even though it was issued in Sicily, not in Egypt. Does anyone know of any earlier ones?
     
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  16. Sulla80

    Sulla80 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the notes @Alegandron, and I do enjoy your posts of non-Roman coins of Italy including the two coins above.

    Interesting question, I am curious to see what turns up. It seems likely to me that the coins in this thread are the earliest Italian coins depicting Serapis. I think the Serapis-Isis coin of @dougsmit is generally considered a bit earlier that my OP coin by a decade or two, and there are Serapis-Isis Tetradrachms of Ptolemy IV, 221-204 which would be roughly the same time period (late third century BC).
     
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  17. TuckHard

    TuckHard Well-Known Member

    Interestingly this same Katane issue was my first jugate coin as well, only I just bought mine last year. I also uploaded it to Numista after seeing they didn't have the type. I don't know anything about them, honestly, so I may well have gotten the denomination wrong in Numista and my records.

    216-206 BCE (circa) Katane AE Chalkous 4.42g 18mm.png
    Katane, Sicily
    c. 216 - 206 BCE
    AE Chalkous (?) | 4.42 grams | 18 millimeters​
     
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